The invention relates to a method for washing laundry, in which the laundry to be washed is moved through a wash path having subsequent chambers with different baths, wherein said laundry passes at least one of the following zones: prewashing zone, clearwashing zone, rinsing zone and after-treatment zone, and the wash water of the individual paths is composed of fresh water or fresh water and waste water of other baths. The invention further relates to a wash path for laundry in bath-change and/or counterflow operation with a washing drum with several subsequent chambers for a plurality of baths in said washing drum and a conveyor means for transferring the laundry through said washing drum as well as at least one fresh water inlet position and at least one waste water drawing-off position and inlet position for water discharge and charging.
In continuous wash paths the laundry to be washed is introduced into a washing drum on one side, which comprises a plurality of subsequent washing chambers. By the rotation of said washing drum or a separate conveyor means the laundry is transferred through said washing drum and the different chambers or baths, respectively, for thereby being washed. Such continuous wash paths are operated in bath change operation as well as in counterflow operation. Also a combined operating mode from bath change and counterflow method is known.
The individual chambers of said wash path are correlated to definite zones in which the laundry is subjected to a treatment. Thus, e.g. in a wash path working in bath change mode a difference is made between a prewashing zone, a clearwashing zone, a rinsing zone and an aftertreatment zone which is followed by a drainage means like e.g. a press or centrifuge. In a wash path working in counterflow mode a difference is made between a first prewashing zone, a second prewashing zone, a clearwashing zone, a rinsing zone and an aftertreatment zone which is followed by the drainage means.
In washing with wash paths unused baths are used to prepare the prewashing bath in the prewashing zone, the clearwashing bath in the clearwashing zone (in case of bath change or counter flow) or in addition one or several bath changes for the subsequent laundry. These baths partially are clearwashing water, the rinsing water or the press water occurring in a drainage means like e.g. a press or centrifuge. These waters are recovered and e.g. leave said rinsing zone either through one or several overflows, through drain valves or together with the laundry when the latter leaves the machine or turn up at the drainage means.
Due to the constant flow direction changes of the inner drum of said wash path as well as by different water piling-ups during passage of the laundry and the separation walls in counter flow this water, however, does not turn up in uniform flow but in gushes in intervals which cannot be controlled. Therefore, also the distribution of the water in the different outlet positions varies. Since in the positions where said water is used again accurately defined amounts are required at an accurately defined time, it is necessary to collect the different waters in buffer tanks and from there to distribute accurately measured amounts to the positions of consumption. Said buffer tanks, however, include the disadvantage that they are very expensive in production, have high demand in space and have to be cleaned more frequently for hygienic reasons. As they, however, usually are arranged below the wash paths, in most cases they are accessible with difficulty only so that cleaning of the lint seaves, removal of sand and objects is very consumptious and, therefore, expensive.